More Russian oil ships have been floating at sea with nowhere to go amid sanctions pressure

• A growing number of Russian oil ships are idling at sea with no apparent destination.
• Four ships with at least 3 million barrels of Russian crude have been floating for at least a week, Bloomberg reported.

A growing number of Russian oil ships have been drifting off at sea with seemingly no destination.

Four Russian oil tankers were floating at sea near the Russian export hub Ust-Luga for at least a week at the end of last month, Bloomberg reported in late January. The tankers are carrying at least 3 million barrels of Urals crude, Russia's flagship oil blend.

The tanker that had been drifting for the longest amount of time, called the Naxos, had spent another two weeks with its cargo fully loaded at another Russian trading port.

A fifth oil ship had also been floating around the Ust-Luga area for just shy of a week, the outlet reported at the time.

None of those ships are individually sanctioned by the US. Still, the lack of movement could point to oil traders treading more carefully as the West looks to crack down on Russian oil trade via sanction after imposing a $60 price cap on Russian oil in late 2022.

Late last year, the US sanctioned five oil ships that traded Russian oil above the price cap limit. One of those ships, the NS Century, was floating off the shores of India for over a month as Indian officials mulled whether to let the ship dock.

Five other ships carrying Russian oil had also been floating close to India and Sri Lanka for a month, before they started turning eastward in January, Bloomberg reported.

Another 14 ships have been idling near a South Korean port for weeks, holding around 10 million barrels of Russian oil Reuters reported.

India, one of Russia's top oil customers, has pulled back on its Russian crude purchases significantly since the West resolved to enforce sanctions more tightly. The nation's crude exports from Russia plunged to a 12-month-low in January, according to ship-tracking data seen by Reuters. Meanwhile, it's ramped up its purchases of Saudi Arabia crude, citing better discounts with Saudi suppliers.

Fleeing customers could spell trouble for Russia over the long run, with crude oil being one of the country's main sources of revenue. Profits among Russia's top oil and gas companies plunged 41% over the first three quarters of 2023, according to data from Russia's central bank.